Clinical Efficacy of Needle Warming Moxibustion Combined with Congrong Duhuosan in Treating Ankylosing Spondylitis with Deficiency of Kidney-Yang Type / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe the efficacy and safety of warm acupuncture combined with Congrong Duhuosan in treating ankylosing spondylitis （AS） with deficiency of kidney-Yang. Method:Totally 186 patients with AS of deficiency of kidney Yang type were randomly divided into observation group and control group, with 93 patients in each group. The control group was treated with meloxicam dispersive tablets combined with Sulfasalazine enteric-coated tablets, while the observation group was treated with warm acupuncture combined with Congrong Duhuosan, with a course of treatment of 63 d. Bath ankylosing spondylitis patient global score (BAS-G), visual analogue score (VAS), bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index (BASDAI), bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI), physicians global assessment (PGA) and syndrome differentiation of kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） were observed before and after treatment. Interleukin-17 (IL-17)，interleukin-23 (IL-23) mRNA expression levels, T helper cell 17（Th17） and regulatory cells（Treg）levels and Th17/Treg ratio were detected before and after treatment. Efficacy and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between two groups. Result:There were 7 cases falling off in control group and 1 case in observation group. After treatment, the total effective rate of observation group was 85.87%（79/92）, which was better than 60.47%（52/86）of control group (χ2=6.08，P<0.01). The scores of BAS-G, VAS, BASDAI, BASFI, PGA and TCM kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome in observation group were significantly improved than those in control group (P<0.05, P< 0.01). IL-17 and IL-23 mRNA expression levels, Th17 and Treg levels and Th17/Treg ratio in observation group were significantly improved compared with control group (P<0.01). The incidence of adverse reactions in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group (P<0.01). Conclusion:Warm acupuncture combined with Congrong Duhuosan can effectively relieve pain, inflammatory reaction and other clinical symptoms of patients with kidney-Yang deficiency AS, and restore the activity function of patients with small adverse reactions. Therefore, it is a safe and effective clinical therapy.